American Pie' singer fined for speeding in Maine

ROCKLAND, Maine (AP) — “American Pie” singer Don McLean has been fined $400 for driving his Chrysler too fast through a Maine school zone and has paid the levy.

McLean contested the charge in September, saying school zone warning lights weren’t flashing. Police said in Rockland District Court on Thursday they were flashing.

The Bangor Daily News reports police say McLean was driving 43 miles per hour when the limit was 15.

A judge found McLean was speeding in the Rockport school zone but lowered what would be a $515 fine if uncontested to $400.

McLean immediately paid up.McLean lives in nearby Camden, along Maine’s coast. He burst into popularity in 1971 with his hit “American Pie,” about the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper in a plane crash on Feb. 3, 1959 — The Day the Music Died.